I’ve admired Uses This for many many years, and I still get excited when I see a new post appear in my feed reader. I’ll never be featured there, but this is my site so I can feature myself 😀

Who are you, and what do you do?

I’m tony. This my blog. I make software, ride bicycles, write in notebooks, nap with dogs.

What hardware do you use?

Computing

  • 14” M1 Macbook Pro
  • Benq 27” Monitor
  • Keychron Q2
  • Bose QC35II
  • iPhone 11 - it’s still kickin’.

Coffeeing

  • Aeropress - since 2013.
  • Beehouse - since not long after. The Melitta filters it uses can be found in any grocery store.
  • Gaggia Classic - since 2023.
  • Beans - from local Chicago roasters. It helps that there are so many great roasters here. Ground with a Lagom Mini

Cycling

  • Raleigh Rush Hour - fixed gear. For commuting and fun.
  • Canyon Endurace - for longer rides on the lakefront. Gears are nice sometimes.

Stationery

  • Trusty Field Notes
  • Kokuyo Campus notebooks
  • Way too many pens and pencils. I desperately want to have a curated 1-2 pens and 1-2 pencils that are my go to, but I’ve never been successful with that.

What software do you use?

  • macOS - it’s unix-y, it’s nice. One day I’d like to switch to linux full time, but macOS is just so convenient. Great integration with hardware, interop between iOS so i can send texts from my laptop, etc.
  • Amethyst - I want my windows to either be full screen, or two panes side by side. Amethyst makes it really easy to switch between those two options. I use it as a lightweight tiling window manager, and it does so admirably.
  • Alacritty - my terminal of choice. Lightweight, fast. No tabs, but that’s what tmux is for (also session persistence, that’s great too). Colorscheme is Solarized, code just looks wrong otherwise.
  • Neovim - for me, it’s the best text editor out there. The motions, the plugins, the ecosystem. I love being able to edit text from within the terminal.
  • Bear - been using Bear for years. It’s small opinionated software that really resonates with me. Gorgeous design, fast, simple. All my digital notes go in here.
  • 1Password - to quote the great Gary Bernhardt, everyone should use 1Password or something like it.
  • Firefox (Developer’s Edition) - Chrome, nor it’s derivatives (Brave, etc.) appeal to me. Firefox is pretty nice, dev tooling is at least on par with Chrome, and Multi-Account Containers are clutch for keeping work, personal, and other accounts isolated.
  • Apple Mail & Fastmail - Fastmail is rock solid and respects your privacy. Apple Mail handles mail. It’s a good setup.